Aluminum
(bauxite)
Aluminum ore, called bauxite, is most commonly formed in deeply weathered rocks. In some locations, deeply weather volcanic rocks, usually basalt, form bauxite deposits. This sample of bauxite ore is from Western Australia.
Aluminum has a wide range of common uses. It is lightweight, strong (especially with alloys), and conducts heat well. Many kitchen items (pots and pans, foil, dishes) are made of aluminum. Most materials used for transportation use large amounts of aluminum: cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and aircraft engines. Road signs and high-voltage power lines are also made mostly of aluminum.
Alu
minum is an
element that occurs naturally in the soil. It's right there
in the periodic table of elements between magnesium and silicon. In
fact, aluminum is the second most plentiful metallic element in the Earth's
crust! While it's been around for a long time, aluminum has only been used
in commercial products like cars and soda cans for the last one hundred
years. Aluminum is lightweight, very ductile (meaning you can shape it
easily when it's heated), and strong. Most aluminum is mined from the Earth,
while a lot of it is recycled.
Pure aluminum is a silvery-white metal with many desirable
characteristics. It is light, nontoxic (as the metal), nonmagnetic and no sparking.
It is somewhat decorative. It is easily formed, machined, and cast. Pure aluminum
is soft and lacks strength, but alloys with small amounts of copper,
magnesium, silicon, manganese, and other elements have very useful
properties. Aluminum is an abundant element in the earth's crust, but it is
not found free in nature. The Bayer process is used to refine aluminum from
bauxite, an aluminum ore.